Car journal lubricator



Jan. 16, 1951 E. ARMSTRONG 2,538,075

CAR JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Filed Jan. 29, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IR! 'v'TOR. ERNEST A/TWETIiONG- ,4 TIDE/IE) Jan. 16, 1951 E. ARMSTRONG 2,538,075

CAR JUURNAL LUBRICATOR Filed Jan. 29, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .INVEN TOR. E/iA/EST ,q msmougr WW W ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAB. JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Ernest Armstrong, Pennsauken N. J.

Application January 29, 1948, Serial No. 4,992:

6 Claims. (01. 308 87).-

This invention relates to a car journal lubricator and it is one object of the invention to provide a lubricating device consisting of a wick or wiper carried by a frame which is: of such construction that. it. may be fitted into a journal box and support the wick, or wiper in position to carry oil upwardly from the bottom of the journal box and deposit the oil upon the portion of a car axle which is supported in the journal box.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lubricator having a wick which carries oil upwardly by capillary attraction and deposits. the oil upon opposite side portions of the car axle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character having a. frame formed of wire and of such construction that it may accommodate itself to the axle and the journal box into which it is fitted and support a fabric wiper in proper position forengagement: with side portions of the car axle.

. Another object of the invention is to provide a lubricator so formed that it may be very easily inserted or removed through the open outer end of a journal box when the door or cap for this end of the journal box is removed, the frame of the lubricator having portions for resting upon side walls of the journal box and firmly supporting the frame within the box.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lubricator which is of light weight, quite strong, and of simple and eificient construction.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken transversely through a journal box and showing the improved lubricator mounted therein.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lubricator with a portion of its wick broken off.

The improved lubricator constituting the subject matter or this invention is used in connection with a journal box. oi? the type known as car journal boxes. Such a box is shown in the drawings and indicated in general by the numeral This journal box has an open outer end which is n rmally closed by a door r n 2 and at. its inner end the box is formed with an opening 3; to accommodate the axle which extends longie t d nal y o t e. b x and up w i h s. he usual. beari g lo k or b as 5- A quantity-ct oil -6 is poured into the journal box through the outer end thereof and this oil is applied to. the axle by means of theimproved lubricator 017 applicator.

This impr ved lubrioator has a frame 1! which is formed of thick wire which is bent to form side bars 8: connected at their outer ends by a cross bar 9 and at their inner ends by a down, wardly bowed arcuate bridge H1. The cross bar 9 is crimped midway its length to form an outstanding finger hold H and the side bars 8 are crimped to form side extensions [23, which are, substantially U -shaped, as shown in Figure 3, but. have their rear legs extending downwardly atv an inward incline so thatthe rear portions 8 of the side. arms '8 are downwardly offset with respect to the forward portions thereof, as shown in Figure 2, and farther apart than the forward portions. Rear portions of the wire strand; are bent upwardly and back downwardly upon them.- selves to. form fingers 13 at the junction of the, bridge It}, with rea ends of the side bars and ends of the wire strand are bent. to form eyes 14 engaged through eyes 15 at ends of; awire link;

it, which completes the bridge by forming the mid-portion thereof. The fingers l3 and the rear arms of the extensions l2 form abutments at ends of the rear portions :8 of the, side bars: 8 and limit movement of sleeves I! along theside bars. Therefore, Yokes it which have arms I!) engaged with the sleeves will be held in place be tween the 'abutments and prevented from shifting longitudinally of the frame out of their properpositions thereon, The yokes are also formed of wire strands, and upon referring to Figure '5 it will be seen that each of these strands is bent to form a yoke having its side arms l9 connected with its bridseportion 20 by upstanding fingers 21 of inverted U-shape. Lower ends of the arms are formed with eyes 22, which fit about the sleeves I1, and tightly grip the sleeves, grooves 23 being formed about the sleeves to accommodate the eyes. and prevent them from slipping off of the sleeves. Since the yokes are. carriedby the. sleeves theyma be swung to a raised position in which they may readily move inwardly alo g P- posite sides of. the axle when the frame I is thrust into the journal box and the. Yokes then tilted towards the axle to an inclined position in, which the bridge portions 2d of the yoke are war y of set relative to h ir pivota ly moun ed lower ends and the fingers 2| engage in seats at opp s t sides of the b ass? 5- A Wick 24 s carried by t evokes "3- This. wick w ic may be f rmed of any mate ial. capa e of removing oil from the bottom of the journal by capillary attraction and in the embodiment illustrated consists of a strip of fabric which is preferably of the type used for bath towels so that it will have good absorbent qualities. The wick is of sufiicient length to allow it to be draped between the yokes with its lower intermediate portion submerged in the oil 6, and its end portions extending upwardly at opposite sides of the axle and formed into loops 25 through which the bridge portions of the yokes l8 pass. Pads 26 which are formed of thick fabric having a deep pile or nap are sewed to inner faces of the end portions of the wick and are in such position that when the lubricator is in use they will bear against opposite side portions of the axle in wiping engagement therewith, as shown in Figure 1. Since the portions of the circle which are connected with the yokes are suspended therefrom in inwardly offset relation to the portions 8' of the side bars 8 and the wick and its pads are saturated with oil which increases the weight of the wick the wick exerts downward pull which has a tendency to tilt the yokes inwardly towards the axle and hold the pads in contact with opposite side portions of the axle.

When the improved lubricator is in use it is thrust into the journal box through the open front end thereof and the downwardly bowed yoke or rear cross bar ll] of the frame will be disposed under the axle transversely thereof, while the side bars of the frame will extend along side walls of the journal box. Resiliency of the wire from which the frame is formed causes them to have gripping engagement with side walls of the journal box and support the frame at a desired height in the journal box and dispose the outer cross bar 9 in such position that it may be readily grasped by its finger hold II when it is to be removed or adjusted. The yokes l8 extend upwardly from the side bars of the frame and cause the pads 26 to bear against side portions of the axle and the wick will be suspended under the axle and be submerged in the oil 6. The wick and its pads are soaked in oil a sufiicient length of time to become thoroughly saturated before the lubricator is thrust into the journal box and when the lubricator is installed any surplus oil will drain from the wick into the oil with which the journal box is filled. Capillary attraction causes oil to move upwardly through theend portions of the wick to the pads and into the pads, and therefore only clean oil will be ap plied to the axle. When replenishment of the oil in the journal box is necessary the cover or cap 2 is opened and oil poured into the journal box. It has been found in actual practice that when the lubricator is installed in a journal box that inspection of the journal box and replenishing of the oil is only necessary every three months. If the pads are found to be worn to such an extent that they do not have proper engagement with the axle the frame is grasped by its finger hold and withdrawn, new pads applied, and the lubricator replaced in the journal box. Since the loops 25 of the wick are disposed between the fingers 2 I, the wick will be prevented from shifting along the bridge portions of the yokes and the pads will always have close contacting engagement with the axle.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1 A lubricant applying device for a car axle comprising a frame of dimensions adapting it to fit within a journal box, said frame having front and rear end bars and side bars extending between the end bars, supports extending upwardly from said side bars and pivoted at their lower ends to the side bars for tilting movement towards opposite sides of an axle, and a V-shaped wick of absorbent fabric draped downwardly between the side bars in position for extending under the axle with its intermediate portion submerged in oil in the bottom portion of the journal box and its end portions secured to upper ends of said supports in position for contacting engagement with opposite sides of the axle.

2. A lubricant applying device for a car axle comprising a frame of dimensions adapting it to fit within a journal box, said frame having front and rear end bars and side bars extending between the end bars, yokes carried by the side bars and extending upwardly therefrom and mounted upon the side bars for tilting movement transversely of the frame towards opposite sides of the axle, a V-shaped wick consisting of a strip of absorbent fabric draped downwardly transversely of said frame in position for extending under the axle transversely thereof with its lower intermediate portion submerged in oil in the journal box and its end portions extending upwardly in inwardly disposed relation to the side bars and secured to upper ends of said yokes, and pads mounted against inner surfaces of the upwardly extending end portions of said wick, the weight of the wick and the pads exerting downward pull upon upper ends of the yokes and serving to tilt the yokes inwardly and hold the pads in position for contacting engagement with opposite sides of the axle.

3. A lubricant applying device for a car axle comprising a frame of dimensions adapting it to fit within a journal box, said frame having front and rear end bars and side bars extending between the end bars, yokes carried by the side bars and each having a bridge and arms extending downwardly from ends thereof, the arms of said yokes having their lower ends being pivoted to the side bars of said frame and mounting the yokes for tilting movement towards opposite sides of the axle, and a wick draped between the yokes and extending downwardly therefrom in position for extending under the axle transversely thereof with its lower portion in position for submersion in oil in the journal box and its end portions secured about the bridges of the yokes and exerting downward pull upon upper ends of the yokes to tilt the yokes inwardly and thereby hold the wick in position for contact with opposite sides of the axle.

4. A lubricant applying device for a car axle comprising a, frame of dimensions adapting it to fit within a journal box, said frame having front and rear end bars and side bars extending between the end bars, yokes carried by the side bars and each having a bridge and arms extending downwardly from ends thereof, sleeves about the side bars, the arms of said yokes being formed with eyes at their lower ends surrounding said sleeves and mounting the yokes for tilting movement transversely of the frame towards opposite sides of the axle, end portions of the bridges of said yokes being bent to form upstanding fingers at ends of the bridges, and a wick consisting of a strip of absorbent material draped transversely of the frame in position to extend transversely thereof under the axle with its intermediate portion submerged in oil in the journal box and secured about the bridges of the yokes between the upstanding fingers thereof to prevent movement of the wick along the yokes, and pads of absorbent material secured against inner faces of end portions of the absorbent strip in position for contacting engagement with opposite side portions of the axle.

5. A lubricant applying device for a car axle comprising a frame of dimensions adapting it to fit within a journal box, said frame having front and rear end bars and side bars extending between the end bars, yokes extending longitudinally of the side bars and projecting upwardly therefrom, sleeves about the side bars, said yokes having bridges and arms extending downwardly therefrom and terminating in eyes surrounding the sleeves and thereby mounting the yokes for swinging movement towards and away from opposite sides of the axle, the side bars of said frame having portions bent to form abutments for engaging said sleeves and limiting movement of the sleeves and the yokes along the frame, said yokes having their bridges bent to form front and rear abutments, and a wick draped between the yokes and extending downwardly therefrom with its intermediate portion disposed under the axle in position for submersion in oil in the journal box and its ends secured about the bridges of the yokes between the abutments of the bridges whereby the wick is held against movements along the bridges.

6. A lubricant applying device for a car axle comprising a frame of dimensions adapting it to fit within a journal box, said frame having front and rear end bars and side bars extending between the end bars, the side bars having portions spaced from their ends bent to form outstanding side extensions projecting laterally from the side bars for engagement with side walls of the journal box, said extensions having rear arms extending downwardly and disposing forward portions of the side bars in upwardly ofiset relation to rear portions of the side bars, rear ends of the side bars being bent upwardly and forming fingers at the junction of the side bars with ends of the rear end bar, the said rear end bar being downwardly bowed and thereby adapted to extend under the axle, yokes pivoted to the side bars between the side extensions and the fingers of the side bars to limit movement of the yokes along the side bars, and a wick of absorbent material draped downwardly transversely of the frame in position to extend under the axle and into oil in the journal box and having its ends secured to said yokes and supporting the wick in position to engage opposite side portions of the axle.

ERNEST ARMSTRONG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS- FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Feb. 13, 1909 Number Number 

